GeForce GTX 980M SLI vs Radeon R9 290

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon R9 290 with GeForce GTX 980M SLI, including specs and performance data.

R9 290
2013, $399
4 GB GDDR5, 275 Watt
19.35

980M SLI outperforms R9 290 by a significant 29% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Contents

Share:
R9 290 R9 290
GTX 980M SLI GTX 980M SLI

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking318255
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation7.03no data
Power efficiency5.429.58
ArchitectureGCN 2.0 (2013−2017)Maxwell (2014−2017)
GPU code nameHawaiino data
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Release date5 November 2013 (12 years ago)7 October 2014 (11 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$399 no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices.

no data

Performance to price scatter graph

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores25603072
Core clock speed947 MHz1038 MHz
Boost clock speedno data1127 MHz
Number of transistors6,200 million2x 5200 Million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)275 Watt200 Watt
Texture fill rate151.5no data
Floating-point processing power4.849 TFLOPSno data
ROPs64no data
TMUs160no data
L1 Cache640 KBno data
L2 Cache1024 KBno data

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Laptop sizeno datalarge
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16no data
Length275 mmno data
Width2-slotno data
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pinno data
SLI options-+

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount4 GB2x 8 GB
Memory bus width512 Bit2x 256 Bit
Memory clock speed1250 MHz5000 MHz
Memory bandwidth320.0 GB/sno data
Shared memory--

Connectivity and outputs

This section shows the types and number of video connectors on each GPU. The data applies specifically to desktop reference models (for example, NVIDIA’s Founders Edition). OEM partners often modify both the number and types of ports. On notebook GPUs, video‐output options are determined by the laptop’s design rather than the graphics chip itself.

Display Connectors2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPortno data
HDMI+-

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

Optimus-+

API and SDK support

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX12 (12_0)12_1
Shader Model6.3no data
OpenGL4.6no data
OpenCL2.0no data
Vulkan1.2.131+
CUDA-+

Synthetic benchmarks

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score.

R9 290 19.35
GTX 980M SLI 24.87
+28.5%

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

R9 290 11860
GTX 980M SLI 18632
+57.1%

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

900p100−110
−35%
135
+35%
Full HD85−90
−29.4%
110
+29.4%

Cost per frame, $

1080p4.69no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low

Counter-Strike 2 140−150
+0%
140−150
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 55−60
+0%
55−60
+0%
Resident Evil 4 Remake 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%

Full HD
Medium

Battlefield 5 95−100
+0%
95−100
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 140−150
+0%
140−150
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 55−60
+0%
55−60
+0%
Far Cry 5 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Fortnite 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 100−105
+0%
100−105
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 100−105
+0%
100−105
+0%
Valorant 170−180
+0%
170−180
+0%

Full HD
High

Battlefield 5 95−100
+0%
95−100
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 140−150
+0%
140−150
+0%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 260−270
+0%
260−270
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 55−60
+0%
55−60
+0%
Dota 2 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%
Far Cry 5 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Fortnite 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 100−105
+0%
100−105
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 90−95
+0%
90−95
+0%
Metro Exodus 55−60
+0%
55−60
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 100−105
+0%
100−105
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%
Valorant 170−180
+0%
170−180
+0%

Full HD
Ultra

Battlefield 5 95−100
+0%
95−100
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 55−60
+0%
55−60
+0%
Dota 2 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%
Far Cry 5 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 100−105
+0%
100−105
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 100−105
+0%
100−105
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%
Valorant 170−180
+0%
170−180
+0%

Full HD
Epic

Fortnite 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%

1440p
High

Counter-Strike 2 55−60
+0%
55−60
+0%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 170−180
+0%
170−180
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Metro Exodus 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 170−180
+0%
170−180
+0%
Valorant 200−210
+0%
200−210
+0%

1440p
Ultra

Battlefield 5 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Far Cry 5 55−60
+0%
55−60
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%

1440p
Epic

Fortnite 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%

4K
High

Counter-Strike 2 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Metro Exodus 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Valorant 150−160
+0%
150−160
+0%

4K
Ultra

Battlefield 5 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%
Dota 2 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Far Cry 5 30−33
+0%
30−33
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%

4K
Epic

Fortnite 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%

This is how R9 290 and GTX 980M SLI compete in popular games:

  • GTX 980M SLI is 35% faster in 900p
  • GTX 980M SLI is 29% faster in 1080p

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 60 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score 19.35 24.87
Recency 5 November 2013 7 October 2014
Power consumption (TDP) 275 Watt 200 Watt

GTX 980M SLI has a 29% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 11 months, and 38% lower power consumption.

The GeForce GTX 980M SLI is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon R9 290 in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon R9 290 is a desktop graphics card while GeForce GTX 980M SLI is a notebook one.

Other comparisons

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

R9 290 Radeon R9 290
vs
RX 470 Radeon RX 470
GTX 980M SLI GeForce GTX 980M SLI
vs
RTX 3050 Ti Mobile GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile
R9 290 Radeon R9 290
vs
GTX 780 GeForce GTX 780
R9 270 Radeon R9 270
vs
RTX 3050 OEM GeForce RTX 3050 OEM
R9 270 Radeon R9 270
vs
Arc A770 Arc A770
R9 270 Radeon R9 270
vs
HD 7970M X2 Radeon HD 7970M X2
R9 270 Radeon R9 270
vs
RX 6750 GRE Radeon RX 6750 GRE
R9 270 Radeon R9 270
vs
RX 9060 XT Radeon RX 9060 XT
R9 290 Radeon R9 290
vs
FirePro M6100 FirePro M6100
R9 290 Radeon R9 290
vs
GTX 760M GeForce GTX 760M
R9 290 Radeon R9 290
vs
GT 625M GeForce GT 625M
R9 290 Radeon R9 290
vs
HD Graphics 510 HD Graphics 510
R9 290 Radeon R9 290
vs
HD 8250 Radeon HD 8250

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.

4.1 625 votes

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3.3 57 votes

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Comments

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